Wilderness Ecotourism and Education as
a Means of Promoting an International
Environmental Ethic
Laura M. Fredrickson
Abstract—At this present historical juncture, many would argue
that there is an obligation to change our societal attitudes toward
the environment, as well as to reassess human values and lifestyles
with respect to ecology. To accomplish this task, societies must
promote deep environmental awareness and respect for the Earth’s
natural systems and wilderness places. This environmental awareness effort must reach virtually everyone in the society, especially
peoples from more developed countries (MDCs) who have the luxury
of engaging in recreation and leisure. It is these recreationists who,
while traveling in natural wilderness (or wildernesslike) settings, are
most likely to come in close contact with nature, and thus acquire
deeper environmental awareness. However, peoples from lesser
developed countries (LDCs) must also be educated about the advantages of embracing sound forms of ecotourism as a viable means of
economic advancement and long-term environmental protection.
Broadly defined, environmental education portends the message
that: Earth’s environment is not an object to be subdued by people,
Earth’s resources are not free of cost, Earth clearly has carrying
capacity limits, and finally, the past paradigm of human domination
over the planet is no longer valid, given the inarguable signs (for
example, global climate change) that we are beginning to exceed
Earth’s carrying capacity.
Sound ecotourism activities (especially wilderness ecotourism)
attempts to educate visitors from MDCs about the ecological and
sociocultural impacts of their travels on the lands and peoples in
various LDCs they visit, while at the same time educating indigenous peoples about alternative means of attaining long-term
sustenance from their local surroundings through various sustainable development practices and ecotourism activities. Through a
review of various case studies, this paper articulates the importance
of the educational initiatives involved in sound ecotourism as a
means of promoting a widespread international environmental
ethic among peoples from both MDCs and LDCs.
Introduction ____________________
Early human attitudes toward the environment tended
toward viewing Earth’s resources as useful commodities that
were more or less unlimited, or renewable, if not severely
overused. Throughout history, human attitudes toward
Laura M. Fredrickson is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
at St. Lawrence University, 101 Memorial Hall, St. Lawrence University,
Canton, NY 13617, U.S.A. Phone: 315-229-5890, FAX: 315-229-5802, E-mail:
lmfmoeller@yahoo.com
In: Watson, Alan; Sproull, Janet, comps. 2003. Science and stewardship to
protect and sustain wilderness values: Seventh World Wilderness Congress
symposium; 2001 November 2–8; Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Proc. RMRSP-27. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Research Station.
188
nature and the environment have tended toward utilitarian,
that is, useful, rather than decorative or luxurious. From the
planet’s fertile soil, which produces the food that we eat, to
the global hydrological cycle that ensures and regulates
planetary moisture levels, most would agree that the Earth’s
resources are essential to life as we know it. Yet few people
are truly aware of the danger present in the prevailing
utilitarian approach toward the environment. The Earth’s
resources are limited and can be exhausted if overused or
stretched beyond one’s limit of adaptability. This attitude
still prevails today among most development profiteers and
policymakers concerned primarily with jobs and profits; the
term “cornucopian” has been used to describe those who hold
this type of environmental attitude. This sector views nature
as a commodity to be developed and sold in the market
place—the tourism sector notwithstanding—and the cost of
maintaining the goods and services the environment supplies is frequently overlooked or viewed as a writeoff on some
distant future debt.
The other extreme on the continuum of human attitudes
toward the environment has been described as “green fundamentalism” (Lowenthal 1990), consisting of radical zealots
and nature purists representing a societal reaction or backlash to the many environmental abuses that resulted from
the onset of the Industrial Revolution, especially the environmental assaults that have occurred since the 1960s. It is
an attitude that embodies the feeling that any form of
human activity harms nature and fears a global integrated
economy, assuming a nationalist, antifree market, antimaterialistic, economically self-sufficient, and protectionist
attitude. In its most extreme form, green fundamentalism
advocates an antidevelopment policy, halting all economic
growth or curtailing present levels of economic activity in an
attempt to protect the environment. Additionally, those who
hold this attitude argue against private ownership of land
and against human access to natural ecosystems, suggesting that these areas have to be protected from human
impact, including nature travel and tourism. Some believe
that the impact of tourism—nature tourism notwithstanding—should automatically be evaluated as negative, stating
that the undesirable environmental externalities of tourism
are inherently objectionable (Mieczkowski 1990). This ecological argument is supported by criticism of the sociocultural and economic problems associated with tourism.
However, both of these positions are extremist and untenable in the real world. There is nothing intrinsically wrong
with development. To demonize any economic activity, such
as ecotourism or nature tourism and travel, as automatically
leading to decreasing environmental quality is shortsighted.
Depending on the scale at which the development occurs and
the degree to which local participation in the project occurs,
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these are more the pivotal elements that determine the
overall success or failure of a particular development project,
with regard to decreased environmental quality. The critical
challenge is to develop systems and projects that ensure
economic survival in a world where long-range sociocultural
and environmental deterioration may ultimately result in
economic disaster. Mainstream environmentalists don’t believe in just any form of development—but specifically in
sustainable development that operates within stringent
environmental constraints that maintain and enhance economic prosperity and quality of life without environmental
deterioration, in other words, development projects (including nature travel and tourism) that are done in an environmentally sound and aesthetic manner, enhancing their
current recreation value while still leaving ecosystems fully
functional and unimpeded.
The prerequisite for environmentally sustainable development is to remain within the limits of nature’s carrying
capacity, while minimizing the negative and maximizing the
positive effects of human activity. Ultimately, the goal is to
achieve economically efficient (working within economies of
scale) sustainable development, and simultaneously a sustainable natural environment. Yet this approach—the middle
road approach—must be undertaken in the spirit of balanced compromise, that is, recognizing the limits of both
human ingenuity and the environment, and approaching
development projects with a degree of educated respect,
caution, and built-in flexibility. However, a firm pro-environment attitude must take precedence; one that accords
basic priority to the ecology is imperative.
For a society, the middle-road approach requires a shift in
societal values and attitudes, in world economic systems, in
international conservation agreements, and by the granting
and receiving of foreign aid for development projects. For the
individual, it means curtailing our pursuit of economic and
technological advancement so as to procure and maintain a
lifestyle based primarily on the acquisition of material
goods. Ultimately, where uncertainty exists regarding a
specific environmental decision associated with development, it is most wise to give the benefit of doubt to nature and
to side with conservation. In other words, it is wisest to err
in favor of the environment than in favor of unmitigated
development.
Importance and Application of
Environmental Education
Programming in Ecotourism
Activities ______________________
As noted in the previous section of this paper, there is an
obligation to change our societal attitudes toward the environment, as well as to reassess human values and lifestyles
with regard to the basic ecology of the planet; perhaps most
importantly is this attitudinal shift in the modernized West.
One way in which to accomplish this task is to actively
promote environmental education for peoples of all society,
both those in more developed countries (MDCs) and those of
lesser-developed countries (LDCs). Whereas many governments in LDCs promote various forms of nature tourism and
travel as a means of economic development and the most
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prevalent connoisseur of this type of economic development
are people at leisure, one must acknowledge the danger or
costs associated when marketing an area’s unique flora and
fauna, not to mention the drawbacks of marketing an area’s
rich cultural heritage—when unmitigated, profiteering development is the driving force behind the enterprise.
In essence, it is those people who are traveling and
recreating in an outdoor setting that are most likely to
develop a sense of environmental awareness or ecological
literacy (Orr 1992). The hope is that through repeated
outdoor recreational experiences, the individual develops a
level of sensitivity to the range of human impacts that
threaten natural ecosystems—from seeing the effects of acid
rain on a once lush evergreen forest to witnessing the lack of
basic sanitation and its effect on a community of people in a
remote village in the Himalayas. Seeing and experiencing
these things will, over the long run, help the individual to
develop an environmental ethic, or earth consciousness,
that takes into account not only the basic principles of
ecology but then also applies them to the realm of social
systems and ongoing cultural advancement.
More specifically, participation in ecotourism activities,
especially those based in remote or wildernesslike settings,
combined with some degree of ecological training of
ecotourism operators in LDCs, contributes to the development of an environmental ethic among the masses. The
inference is that this will translate into political activism on
matters of the environment, both domestically and abroad
(Gunn 1988a,b; Jackson 1988; Pigram 1980).
Select Case Studies: Moving Toward
Success
Annapurna Conservation Area Project, Nepal—The
King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation established
2
2
the 7,629 km (2,946 miles ) Annapurna Conservation Area
Project (ACAP) in December of 1986. Its status as a multipleuse area, as opposed to the more restrictive national park
model, is an innovative concept in achieving environmental
protection along with sustainable community development.
Multiple use is accommodated in part by the subdivision of
the area into zones, including special management areas,
intensive-use areas, limited use areas and wilderness areas
(Gurung and DeCoursey 1994). Moreover, the project embraces traditional subsistence activities that are woven into
a framework of sound resource management, supplemented
by conservation, development, and alternative energy programs, to minimize the negative impacts of tourism and
enhance the living standards of the local people.
The biological diversity of the Annapurna Region is equally
rivaled by its rich cultural diversity. Since the first trekker
came to the Annapurna area in 1957, the natural and
cultural features of ACAP have made it the most popular
tourist destination in Nepal, drawing more than 60 percent
of the country’s total trekkers. ACAP follows a grassroots
philosophy of maximum peoples’ participation, sustainability, and its role as a catalyst whereby the local people are
involved in all aspects of the conservation and development
processes, both as principal actors and prime beneficiaries.
ACAP is spread out in five districts of the Western Development Region of Nepal and covers 55 Village Development
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Committees. ACAP is divided into seven units with conservation offices located in the field at Jomsom, Manang, and
Lho Manthang in the north and Bhujung, Lwang, Sikles,
and Ghandruk in the south. While the focus of Jomsom,
Manang, and Ghandruk, which are also popular areas for
trekking, is on integrated tourism management and agropastoralism, the program priorities for Bhujung, Sikles, and
Lwang are poverty alleviation and integrated agriculture
and livestock development, agroforestry, and community
development, respectively. The focus in Lho Manthang,
Upper Mustang, which came under the jurisdiction of ACAP
in 1992, has been on managing controlled tourism on a
sustainable basis, and promoting heritage conservation,
which is the major tourist attraction along with alternative
energy, resource conservation, and community development
programs. The Conservation Education and Extension Project
(CEEP) has been implemented in the entire ACAP and forms
the backbone of all its conservation efforts in the region.
Implementation of ACAP was achieved through the King
Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC), a
nongovernmental, theoretically autonomous, nonprofit organization, described as very effective because of its international connections, autonomy, international fund-raising
capacities and ability to bypass the cumbersome bureaucracy frequently present in LDCs. The ultimate goal of the
KMTNC is to see that the local people themselves, with
minimal intervention from government and/or other institutions, manage ACAP. That is, ACAP was designed so that
most startup costs would initially be borne by outside donors, but then financial stability would be gradually achieved
through user fees charged to international visitors and
placed in an endowment fund that would generate funds for
future conservation efforts in the area. One of the major
innovations of the ACAP is that local communities are
expected to contribute, in money or in kind, at least 50
percent of the costs of any project, assuming that such
financial contributions not only indicate a serious initial
intent, but ensure a long-term community commitment
because of the vested funds involved (Wells and Brandon
1992).
Tourism-related components of ACAP that emphasize
active ecotourism initiatives aimed at the visitor include:
•
Establishment and maintenance of visitor information
centers to disseminate advice to trekkers, using videos,
brochure and publicity materials, and other interpretive/educational sources.
• Litter and pollution control through the installation of
toilets and trash receptacles in lodges and through the
distribution of brochures directed toward changing the
behavior of high-impact tourists.
• Lodgeowner training through a 1-week course, involving
fuelwood savings and substitutes (as through the use of
back boiler water heaters), hygiene, garbage disposal,
and the formation of lodge management committees.
• Trekking guide training focusing on minimal impact
camping protocol (“leave no trace” principles).
• Formation of local Lodge Management Committees
(LMCs) who are heavily involved in the decisionmaking
process as to how excess funds are distributed and
reinvested in the conservation project.
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•
•
Search and rescue arrangements for emergency helicopter evacuation for visitors.
Ecocamp site development in ecologically/culturally sensitive areas (based on “leave no trace” principles).
Conservation-related components of ACAP that emphasize education aimed primarily at the local population
include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conservation education classes in schools.
Conservation awareness camps for local villagers.
Village cleanup campaigns.
Formation of local natural history museums and visitor
information services, including an environmental resource library.
Formation of extension and conservation education
inhouse for Community Forestry Groups (CFGs).
Implementation of the policy of incremental access
through limited access permits into trekking areas.
Since ACAP was first implemented, many ecological and
sociocultural improvements are evident: reduced firewood
consumption, enforcement of kerosene-only policies (for
cooking) in certain areas, a complete ban on hunting, cleaner
lodges and enhanced sanitation systems, better waste management, economic diversification, and improved revenue
retention. Since 1989, ACAP has charged an average entrance fee of 200 rupees (USD 9), yielding an annual revenue
of 4 million rupees (USD 160,000), which has then been
reinvested into various conservation efforts, as well as
educational and social welfare initiatives, such as
microlending programs, trekking guide training programs,
and women’s literacy programs. The revenues generated
from ACAP are equivalent to approximately one-half the
revenues of trekking permits for all of Nepal. Overall, a
major accomplishment of ACAP has been the creation of an
environmental ethos among locals and tourists (Buckley
1991).
Sunungukai Camp, Zimbabwe—On the banks of the
Mazowe River is Sunungukai Camp, the first ecotourism
project run by a small community of some 25 households in
five rural villages (Kapandoro, Hodzi, Munando, Chidaramumba, and Mapini). Opened in March 1993, Sunungukai
is run by a locally elected committee, under the Communal
Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources
(CAMPFIRE), with funding and management training provided by the Zimbabwe Trust. The philosophical underpinning of this ecotourism venture was to solve the threat of
unsustainable exploitation of natural resources by ensuring
that local people reap economic benefits on nonconsumptive
tourism activities. Visitors to the area come to enjoy mountain hiking and scenic vistas overlooking the river, fishing
for a variety of game fish, or photography and viewing
wildlife. Local guides take people to see nearby bushman
paintings or to consult the traditional healer. Visitors camp or
stay in traditional round huts and can make arrangements to
share traditional meals with local residents.
CAMPFIRE, as the umbrella organization, facilitates the
formation of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) for the
purpose of natural resource management. Through the CAMPFIRE principles of decentralization and devolution, CBOs
are formed and structures developed linking them to local
authorities, ensuring local participation in decisionmaking
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and hands-on management of the area’s natural resources.
Besides receiving benefits from the revenues of the camp,
some locals have been trained (and now work) as guides.
Others make handicrafts and souvenirs to sell at the camp.
Community workshops and meetings are held to ensure that
the locals can voice their opinions on the impacts of the
ecotourism in their area.
Prior to the start of the project, access to and use of the
area’s natural resources in the Communal Lands of the
Mazowe River Basin were unrestricted. This led to serious
degradation of the natural environment. For example, demand for fuelwood led to the destruction of forests, poor
agricultural practices led to serious soil erosion, and gold
panning activities aggravated the problem of river siltation—issues not that uncommon in other developing countries. Add to this the problem of increased population density throughout the whole of Zimbabwe, and you’ve got an
area that is teetering on the brink of ecological and cultural
bankruptcy. The problem of environmental degradation is
by no means confined to the Mazowe River Basin. On the
contrary, it is a national problem for Zimbabwe where over
70 percent of the population is rural and depends on land
resources for its livelihood.
Given that local communities were not compensated for
nonuse of natural resources and the fact that the state had
access to much needed resources under a principle of exclusion under the national policy of Protected Areas, the environment was severely compromised. Yet, if the clearing of
woodland for agricultural production and harvesting of the
forests for fuelwood and construction poles continued unabated, the forest resources would have been completely
depleted, and the river would have silted beyond repair.
With the silting of the river, the fish population would have
declined, which could have then triggered game poaching as
a source of protein (a practice that is frequently found in
other parts of sub-Sahara Africa). In general, mounting
environmental degradation had a direct and negative impact on economic development in the Sunungukai area.
Determined to bring change to their community, local
villagers decided to establish an income-generating project.
This was to build a camp, and a suitable site was identified
in Kapandaro Village. An elected committee of local community members oversaw the construction and management of
the site. Sunungukai Camp was built on one hectare (2.5
acres) of land, and the owner of the land is continually
entitled to 10 percent of the camp revenues. Another 5 to10
percent goes to the Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe Rural District Council (UMPRDC), which serves as a link between the
project and the central government and provides technical
support on project implementation. Decisions about the remaining revenues are made by the management committee.
The camp consists of four roundavel lodges, each with its
own grilling site, a reception/information building, communal kitchen, and a caretaker’s room. The layout of the camp
is based on traditional Shona architecture and was constructed using locally available materials with local labor
provided by the community. All the bricks used in construction were made by the local people, and they provided
thatching grass and poles for roofing. Cement, windows and
doorframes were bought with cash provided by the Zimbabwe Trust, and fencing materials (to keep out unwanted
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wildlife) was bought with donated funds from the New
Zealand High Commission in Zimbabwe.
Since its inception in 1993, the area has experienced a
remarkable change in the way the community is actively
involved in monitoring natural resource use and generating
an income from ecotourism. This has led to controlled gold
panning and better use of other resources, such as poles and
thatch used in building construction. Additionally, members
of the local community have received extensive training
from the CAMPFIRE Association and other community
conservation groups on natural resources management and
ecotourism opportunities. Most of the money generated thus
far has gone to pay staff and to continue with renovations
and facility upgrades. One of the most pressing problems
still facing beautiful Sunungkai Camp is that the area is
not well marketed and remains somewhat underutilized.
Future revenues are earmarked for marketing the site
internationally and increasing the tourism management
and training for the local labor force. Nonetheless, in the
perspective of the community, “it is now true to say that the
majority of our people have an increasing realization of what
the environment means to them and to future generations”
(Munasinghe 1995).
Tourism-related components of Sunungukai Camp that
emphasize active ecotourism initiatives aimed at the visitor
include:
•
•
•
•
Formation of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs)
that initiate and organize local communities around
economic empowerment and resource conservation
projects.
Tour guide training focusing on minimal impact camping protocol and photographic safaris (“leave no trace”
principles).
Formation of the local Sunungukai Management Committee (SMC) who is heavily involved in the decisionmaking process as to how excess funds are distributed
and reinvested in the conservation project.
Eco-campsite development (no running water, no flush
toilets, no electricity) in sensitive areas (based on “leave
no trace” principles).
Conservation-related components of Sunungukai Camp
that emphasize education aimed primarily at the local
population include:
•
•
•
•
Conservation awareness workshops for local villagers.
Village cleanup campaigns.
Drafting of the Sunungukai Management Committee
Peoples’ Constitution that monitors community natural
resource use regulations and implements sanctions
against offenders.
Collection of user fees for use of natural resources by
nonlocals.
Toledo Ecotourism Association: The Toledo
Guesthouse and Ecotrail Program—The Toledo Ecotourism Association (TEA) is comprised of Mopan, Kekchi,
and Garifuna (Carib/African) villages in the forgotten southern district of Toledo in Belize. This program was formed to
enable the local peoples to directly plan, control, and profit
from ecotourism. Profits from the TEA program go to a
general fund, which contributes to village health and education, rainforest conservation, and central office operation.
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More than 80 percent of all funds stay in the individual
village that is visited.
Established in 1990 after the Toledo Home Site Farming
and Ecology Center organized a series of free, communitysponsored public workshops focusing on profiting from sound
ecotourism, TEA has, from the start, been a grassroots
organization. Villagers who attended these initial workshops first developed the Toledo Guesthouse Program by
building four simple guesthouses throughout the southern
district of Belize where visiting ecotourists could stay. The
original four TEA guesthouses were built by local community members and were constructed from local building
materials in a style that matched traditional Belizean home
design. Each guesthouse was constructed of palm leaf roofs,
wooden walls, and dirt or concrete floors, and each guesthouse
contained only four bunkbeds, thereby minimizing the number of people who could stay at one particular guesthouse.
Additionally, the guesthouses were designed to be environmentally low impact. The guesthouses do not have electricity but instead rely on traditional oil lamps. Restrooms
consist of nonflush, composting toilets, and the washroom
consists of a basin of water and a dipper and towel for
bathing. Different host families prepare traditional meals,
and it is expected that visitors rotate their visitation to
individual homes for meals so as to economically benefit a
greater percentage of the local community.
To date, there are roughly 18 guesthouses spread throughout the southern district of Toledo, and because each of the
TEA villages are located within relatively close proximity to
one another, visitors typically walk from one inland village
to the next. Accompanied by local guides, the Toledo Ecotrail
system allows visitors to travel through a diverse array of
landscapes—from virgin jungles rich with over 500 species
of tropical birds, 200 types of wild orchids and the elusive
jaguar, to climbing in the foothills of the Maya Mountains
that provide spectacular views of the rainforest below. While
traveling inland, tourists make their way from one village to
the next, incorporating visits to ancient Mayan wonders that
have survived over a thousand years, such as Lubaantun or
Uxbenka, both ancient Mayan ceremonial centers.
In striking contrast, the Ecotrail system travels through
the beautiful fishing village of Barranco, which is a fine
representation of traditional Garifuna culture. In striking
contrast to the Mayan villages inland, Barranco offers a
coastal setting and a rich culture derived from the
Amerindian/African heritage of the region. Days in the
coastal village of Barranco can be spent fishing in dugout
canoes or visiting the Temash River Forest Reserve; nights
come alive with Garifuna drumming and dancing.
The main objective of the Toledo Guesthouse and Ecotrail
Program is to provide visitors to the area a glimpse into
everyday life as experienced by the Mopan, Kekchi, and
Garifuna peoples. Visitors to the area have the unique opportunity to observe traditional farming, cooking, weaving, and
basketry; enjoy traditional dances, music, and storytelling;
and, learn arts and crafts, such as backstrap weaving,
embroidery, and jippy-jappa basketry.
Finally, all programming is locally supported and sanctioned by an elected village executive, who oversees the
running of the program in each particular village. Additionally, there is a district executive, who is elected every 2 years,
to manage and control the TEA program on a district level.
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The entire organization of 201 members, representing 10
villages, holds regular monthly meetings to decide longterm planning and strategizing.
Apart from providing a rich and memorable experience to
the visitor, another important objective of the Toledo
Guesthouse and Ecotrail Program is raising monies to help
fund alternatives to slash and burn agriculture, the number
one cause of deforestation in the Toledo district. As previously mentioned, approximately 80 percent of the monies
raised through this particular program remain in each
separate village and goes toward improving village health
and education initiatives, as well as providing individual
families who participate in the program with a source of
personal income.
Tourism-related components of the Toledo Guesthouse
and Ecotrail Program that emphasize active ecotourism
initiatives aimed at the visitor include:
•
•
•
Tour guide training focused on educating the visitor
about the daily life practices of indigenous residents and
their local relationship to the environment.
Low impact guesthouse design (no running water, no
flush toilets, no electricity) villages.
Rotational work basis for tour guides, educating visitors
about the importance of balancing traditional work
with that of ecotourism activities.
Conservation-related components of the Toledo Guesthouse
and Ecotrail Program that emphasize education aimed primarily at the local population include:
•
•
•
•
•
Appointment of an elected village executive who initiates and organizes local community members around
economic empowerment and resource conservation
projects.
Conservation awareness workshops for local villagers
about proper guesthouse construction using locally available resources.
Establishment of consistent user fees for individual
households who host visitors to the Toledo district.
Collection of user fees for use of natural resources by
nonlocals.
Appointment of elected district executives who are
heavily involved in the decisionmaking process as to
how excess funds are to be distributed and reinvested at
the regional level in various health, education, and
conservation initiatives.
Discussion and Conclusions ______
In all countries of the world, both poor and rich, wilderness
ecotourism (or wildernesslike settings) has the potential of
playing an outstanding role in educating peoples from both
MDCs and LDCs about the importance of adopting an
international and universally accepted environmental ethic.
This international environmental ethic must include such
things as:
•
•
The recognition of the complexity of nature and a repudiation of the belief that we can scientifically understand and technologically manipulate nature without
limit.
Restraint in our behavior toward the natural world and
restriction of our wants.
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•
Wilderness Ecotourism and Education as a Means of Promoting an International Environmental Ethic
The cultivation of a comprehensive sensibility toward
nature that is equally far from the overly romantic,
anthropomorphic view as from the utilitarian or
cornucopian view of nature.
Moreover, this type of paradigmatic change in humans’
views toward nature will not come about without also recognizing that ecological protection and cultural preservation
are inextricably linked, and maintaining both are integral to
establishing long-term ecological integrity.
Participation in sound ecotourism, combined with appropriate environmental education and ecological training (for
example, “leave no trace” principles), can contribute to the
development of a deep environmental ethic among people
from MDCs who travel internationally to visit wilderness
settings in various LDCs, while also increasing the sociocultural concerns for the lives of peoples living in close contact
with these wilderness settings. In the long run, this translates to political activism on matters of the environment, in
addition to matters of social equity for persons in LDCs
whose lives are inextricably linked to wilderness settings.
Yet, at the same time, only minorities of people in LDCs are
educated to behave responsibly toward the natural environment. That is, the least environmentally concerned, due to
their economic disadvantage, are residents of rural agricultural areas living in close proximity to wilderness (or
wildernesslike) settings, and who are wholly dependent on
the local flora and fauna for their sustenance. In many
instances, inhabitants of these areas regard natural vegetation primarily as a source of food and fuel, and wildlife as a
source of meat—or harbingers of destruction to agricultural
crops. For many peoples in LDCs, the land is not an arena for
leisure pursuits but a means of livelihood and survival. In
other words, the very concept of nature and wilderness in
most LDCs is very different than the environmental ethic
that drives much of the preservationist and conservationist
activities in MDCs.
Through the use of decentralized political and economic
decisionmaking processes utilized in ecotourism development projects, local indigenous community members of
various LDCs are becoming vested caretakers and stewards
of their cultural heritage and the natural environs that
support their given way of life. The three case studies
described exemplify many of the positive outcomes of sound
ecotourism activities.
In conclusion, however, those of us from MDCs –—who
have the great luxury of travel to far off and distant wildlands—must ask ourselves the difficult question of whether
we should stop traveling altogether. In the struggle to return
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control of tourism activities to the local communities in
LDCs, we must increasingly scrutinize our motives for
traveling, deciding whether we have the right as consumers
to buy other cultures and environments, and yet still try to
support responsible tourism.
In an age where the media dominates and shapes our view
of the world, it is imperative that we utilize ecotourism as a
means to communicate with one another. In fact, there is no
better way to understand the global environmental crisis
that we all face than through people-to-people contact and
firsthand interaction. Through one-on-one meetings with
people we encounter through our travels, we discover universal themes of human culture. In other words, we become
acutely aware that no matter where we live, we are all
confronting similar situations.
References _____________________
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